Apartment Blog

New technology combined with traditional marketing methods
generate more leads for property managers

Finding a home is a big decision for potential renters. Property managers should be interested in making this process as seamless as possible. With the emergence of new media putting properties in front of prospective renters quicker than ever, it is important for property managers to take advantage of new, technologically-savvy marketing techniques. While maintaining traditional efforts, to continue generating leads you can utilize all of your offline and online marketing tools and create synergy between mediums. By adding mobile marketing, streaming video and social media to marketing initiatives, property managers have the potential to increase their reach, better identify with the apartment market’s target demographic, and generate more leads from potential renters.

Mobile marketing, such as text messaging, and streaming video can assist your marketing endeavors in many ways. Maximize print advertising with text messaging to create an opportunity for property managers to interact more with their residents—increasing the residents’ brand loyalty in the community and the property management company. Mobile marketing expands marketing reach to all types of media and results in more online conversions. As a marketing tool, streaming video can generate more exposure for property managers and encourage conversation between properties and their potential residents. According to comScore, U.S. Internet users viewed over 11.4 billion online videos during July and 75% of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video. Read the full comScore report here.

Social media personalizes the apartment searching process, allowing seekers to become more connected with a property. It offers a variety of marketing avenues for property managers. They can communicate with residents and prospective residents through social networks, blogs, instant messaging, and podcasts. According to the findings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study, almost 60% of Americans interact with companies on a social media Web site, and one in four interact more than once per week. The survey found that 93% of Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media, while 85% believe a company should not only be present, but should also interact with its consumers via social media.

With the advances made to communication through technology, it is not only important for property managers to deliver their message to potential renters, but to also actively participate in the conversation. Today, that conversation is taking place on social networking sites, blogs and video-sharing sites. These new forms of new media personalize the apartment searching process, allowing seekers to become more connected with a property.

 Did you know that ForRent.com posts our apartment videos on various social networking and video sharing sites?  We upload videos to our video syndication network which consists of a variety of sites such as: YouTube, MySpace, Yahoo, Dailymotion and many others! Why do we do this? ForRent.com wants to make sure that we are reaching renters and prospective renters in as many places as possible so that it makes the apartment search easier.  These videos really provide a rich cinematic view of both the apartment community and the surrounding area.

The way people search for information has changed and ForRent.com wants to make sure that we provide you with apartment information when you want and how you want it. So next time you are logged into MySpace or watching a funny video on YouTube, check out apartment videos by ForRent.com!

Here is a list of the most recent videos uploaded!

ForRent.com Williamsburg Plaza Apartments For Rent in Platte City, MO
ForRent.com Emerald Forest Apartments For Rent in Durham, NC
ForRent.com Summit Ridge Apartments in Lewisville, TX Video
ForRent.com Eitel Building City Apartments For Rent in Minneapolis, MN
ForRent.com The Vintage at the Grove Apartments in Manchester, CT
ForRent.com Woodbury Park at City Centre Apartments For Rent in Woodbury, MN
ForRent.com Beaumont Farms Apartments For Rent in Lexington, KY
ForRent.com The Polo Club Apartments in Strongsville, OH Video
ForRent.com Parlmont Park Apartments For Rent in Billerica, MA Video
ForRent.com West Village Urban Loft Apartments For Rent in Durham, NC
ForRent.com Endicott Green Apartments For Rent in Danvers, MA Video
ForRent.com Colonial Grand at Heathrow Apartments in Lake Mary, FL Video

We are witnessing a change in the way media is consumed and the way the entire consumer shopping experience has changed. Consumers are finally in control, and they are consuming media when they want, where they want, and how they want. Video sharing sites and social networking sites have emerged as major factors in the culture of communication among Internet users.

Video consumption on the Web is rapidly approaching the tipping point for advertisers as streaming video is becoming increasingly popular among leading consumer website genres such as media and entertainment, news, social networking, footwear and apparel, automobiles, and major search engines, just to name a few.

According to recent research from comScore Media Metrix, Americans viewed more than 11.4 billion videos for a total duration of 558 million hours during July 2008 and YouTube alone drew in 5 Billion U.S. online video views. comScore also states that 75% of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.

As budgets tighten, companies look to cut spending in order to stay competitive.  However, companies need to remember the importance of having a strong Internet presence coupled with their print presence. Online video is a very effective and cost efficient Internet strategy.

The multi-family housing apartment industry is tapping into these trends to create a new and innovative way to help property managers attract clients, advertise their community and boost sales for their developments. ForRent.com’s

Community Theater^TM streaming video product is a great advertising solution for property managers and owners. This professionally produced video allows consumers to view features and amenities of apartment communities nationwide. As a complement to the virtual tour, Community Theater will not only give prospective renters a glimpse into a property’s units and amenities, but the surrounding city and community that the property is located in, as well. View our Community Theater product video here.

ForRent.com enables property managers and owners to reach more apartment renters by pushing Community Theater videos to our video syndication network. Our network includes major search engines like Google^TM and Yahoo!^®, social networking sites such as MySpace^®, video-sharing sites including YouTube^TM and metacafe and many more that reach hundreds of millions.

Online video raises the bar for multi-family housing professionals and property managers looking to attract potential clients. Professionals who choose to utilize online video to drive traffic to their site, have the opportunity to build their company’s brand awareness as well as raise company perception to their audience.

We can expect many positive changes in the future of online video advertising. According to an eMarketer report, video ad spend is expected to reach $775 million in 2007 from $410 million in 2006 and video online spending by marketers will increase 89% in 2007 over 2006. In addition, 66% of Americans watch online video advertisements and 46% take action on what they’ve seen. If others in the multi-family housing industry take advantage of the many opportunities that this new form of advertising can create, it will prove to be a beneficial investment.

During the housing boom, buyers were borrowing thousands of dollars to pay for homes on the market. However, in today’s economy, many of the buyers aren’t able to repay those loans due to rising interest rates, resulting in mass foreclosures. With foreclosures, many residents are forced to find alternative living arrangements, most often apartments to rent. Due to pet restrictions in apartment communities, pet shelters are seeing an increase in the number of animals being given up. Or worse, left on the streets.

ForRent.com doesn’t want to see anymore pets separated from their family. Pet owners needing to relocate can use our site to find pet-friendly apartments. With our easy search criteria, you’re sure to find an apartment in your area that accommodates you and your animal. Please visit ForRent.com today! Your pet is a part of your family and we want all of you to stay together.